Hamburg (Germany), Sep 3(DPA) World champions Italy were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Lithuania in a major surprise in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

The Italians, with seven world cuppers in their side, went behind to a goal in the 21st minute by Tomas Danilevicius. Filippo Inzaghi equalised nine minutes later but the Italians were unable to add more to their tally Saturday.

Italy now travel to Paris where they meet Group B opponents France Wednesday, in a repeat of the World Cup final.

France began their campaign with a solid 3-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.

In the first match since the retirement of Zinedine Zidane, Frank Ribery took control in midfield, setting up goals for Florent Malouda and Louis Saha in the 7th and 15th minutes, before an own goal by Malkhaz Asatiani a minute after the break put France well in charge.

The defeat was a blow for Georgia's new German coach Klaus Toppmoeller after his team had started the qualifying campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of the Faroe Islands.

The Faroe Islands were again the whipping boys Saturday when Scotland dished out another 6-0 hammering. Kris Boyd scored twice while Darren Fletcher, James McFadden, Kenny Miller and substitute Garry O'Connor were also on target.

Tottenham striker Jermaine Defoe and Liverpool centre-forward Peter Crouch both bagged two goals while Crouch's club team mate Steven Gerrard was also on target as England downed Andorra 5-0 in a Group E game at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Germany defeated Ireland 1-0 in Stuttgart in Group D in the first competitive match for coach Joachim Loew since succeeding Juergen Klinsmann after the World Cup.

Lukas Podolski's shot from a free kick was deflected by Ireland captain Robbie Keane into the net in the 57th minute to give Germany a deserved victory.

In the same group, the Czech Republic overcame Wales thanks to two goals by substitute David Lafata, while Slovakia thrashed Cyprus 6-1.

In Group F, Northern Ireland slid to a 3-0 defeat to Iceland at Windsor Park, Belfast. All three goals came in the first half through Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson, Hermann Hreidarsson and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

In a Group G match, Holland struggled to beat Luxembourg 1-0, Hamburg defender Joris Mathijsen hitting an 18th-minute winner.

In Group C, European champions Greece came away from Moldova with a 1-0 victory courtesy a Nikos Liberopolous goal, while in the same group Norway enjoyed a 4-1 win in Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina were 5-2 winners in Malta.

Group A saw Finland gain a surprise 3-1 win in Poland, while Serbia edged Azerbaijan 1-0.